The Baboon King and the Cherry Blossom
by SourFox
Summary: Byakuya is quite content with his life as a resident priest at the shrine. With Gin, a kitsune, as a friend, times are never dull. With the arrival of a mysterious cloaked figure at the dead of night, things are about to get more interesting for Byakuya. AU. Yaoi
1. Prologue

**Title: The Baboon King and the Cherry Blossom**

**Rating: M**

**Summary: Byakuya is quite content with his life as a resident priest at the shrine. With Gin, a kitsune, as a friend, times are never dull. With the arrival of a mysterious cloaked figure at the dead of night, things are about to get more interesting for Byakuya. **

**Warning: This story contains yaoi. **

**Prologue:**

Byakuya pushed himself off of the wall, turning towards the broom. A breeze blew past, picking up some of Byakuya's hair along with it. Just what he needed – wind. At least it was nearing the end summer, and not yet autumn, otherwise all his sweeping would have been for nothing. He took a spare hair tie from the small pocket in his kimono sleeve and quickly tied up his hair before it could get knotted by the breeze.

"I should go and check on the smaller shrines," he said to himself.

What else was there to do? The morning prayers were done first thing in the morning, and there were no religious ceremonies scheduled for the rest of the day. The garden had been tended to just three days ago. There were no pressing or even minor repairs that required his attention. Byakuya was almost at a loss. He did his job of maintaining the grounds and the shrines too well. He still had three hours before his before he needed to head into town. He could only occupy himself that long with sweeping, even if the shrine grounds were vast.

Byakuya gathered the broom and various other cleaning items and put them away in the storeroom. He quickly stopped in the bathroom to make sure his hair was in a respectable state. After all, he was the only resident kannushi at the shrine so he had to make sure he was presentable in case any shrine visitors chose to approach him. It would be very poor of him to tarnish the Kuchiki name due to an unkempt appearance.

Looking in the mirror, Byakuya noticed that his cheeks were flushed from the breeze. The weather was definitely starting to get colder. He tied his hair properly and inspected his clothes. As expected, his white kimono and purple hakama were clean and proper. Finding nothing else to fix in terms of his appearance, Byakuya left with a small cloth tucked into his kimono and strolled leisurely through the grounds.

Byakuya slipped on his zori sandals as he stepped out of the house, taking a quick look at his surroundings. The house was kept separate from the main shrine by a fence and a hedge of bushes. As it was with all other shrines in Japan, there were a lot of sakaki trees, sacred trees used to house the kami, but the grounds were dominated more by the variety sakura trees than anything else. The fuyusakura, winter cherry blossoms, would start blooming by the start of winter. While he was out and wandering around the grounds, Byakuya figured he might as well do a general inspection on the sakura trees as well.

The main shrine was actually an Inari shrine, but the smaller shrines Byakuya went to were dedicated to other kami and were scattered about on the grounds, which was uncommon as far as shrines went. They were usually gathered around the main shrine. When he had asked his grandfather about the matter, he had simply said that the smaller shrines had been their longer then the main shrine. The shrines themselves were small and only needed to be dusted off, but Byakuya didn't rush the job. The kami all needed to be paid their proper respects, even when cleaning the shrines, he couldn't do it in a disrespectful way.

With one shrine left to clean, the shrine dedicated to Konohanasakuya-hime, the goddess of cherry blossoms and the protector against volcano eruptions, Byakuya was grateful. It was undoubtedly his favourite place in Tokyo. The sakura trees there, when in full bloom, were the most beautiful. It was also near a natural waterfall where a large shidarezakura tree stood watch over the water with its branches drooping down over the rocks like a curtain.

Climbing the last stretch of the hill, Byakuya paused at the top of it, and just looked at the grove of sakura trees for moment. He played in the grove frequently as a child, and later he helped his father with the general upkeep of the grounds. His family had looked after these grounds for generations, centuries if the local tales were to be believed. Byakuya grew up knowing that he would have to become a priest and that there was little room for foolish things such as dreams in his grandfather's eyes. He was content with it. He was only one left to carry on the family name and its duties after all. Rukia was far too young and had too much of a free spirit to be bound to the shrine. Hisana had already passed over years ago.

Besides, Byakuya managed on his own, well, he supposed that things had been easier since Hinamori had applied to work at the shrine part-time as a miko after school. Sena had been quick to take HInamori under her wing. There were other kannushi who worked at the shrine, but Izuru only worked as a priest part-time and Ukitake didn't work as regularly due to his illness. That also made Byakuya the jōkai, the head priest.

"Ne, Byakuya-kun?"

Byakuya wanted to frown, but he wouldn't give that damned fox the gratification. Keeping his face as neutral as possible, he looked up and found Gin perched on one of the sakaki tree branches with a sly grin on his face.

"What do you want?" Byakuya asked, walking forward to clean the shrine.

Gin tucked his fingers under his chin. He was the shrine's resident kitsune, a messenger to the kami. He liked following Byakuya around when he had the time, because what better pastime could there be than trying to vex a priest?

"Aww, 'a've been gone for a few days an' I don' even get a simple 'hello' from ya."

Byakuya stayed with his back facing Gin. He was trying to focus on cleaning the shrine and he didn't need nor want a flee ridden kitsune prattling in his ears. Byakuya thought that after all these years he would be able to tune Gin's voice out and treat it as simple background noise. He had yet to figure out the trick to getting it right, so he was stuck with listening to every little titbit of gossip from the spirit world.

Gently wiping off dust that had gathered on the plague, Byakuya made a closer inspection to see if the ink needed to be reapplied. It looked like it would last until New Year's. He removed cobwebs that had been spun inside the shrine did another quick inspection to make sure he didn't miss anything. As he was finishing up, Byakuya noticed that Gin hadn't said a single word since he had turned his back to the fox.

Standing up straight, Byakuya dusted himself off. "Is there something bothering you, Gin?"

Gin leapt down in front of Byakuya. Looking down at the priest, Gin opened his eyes. It was something he rarely did. Byakuya never really understood why Gin went around hiding his eyes all the time. He thought it might just be something kitsune did. The way he was being looked at now didn't sit well with him.

"How 'ave you been sleepin' lately?" Gin asked.

Byakuya was almost taken back by the question and the seriousness with which it had been asked. He had expected some witty or childish remark. He didn't know if Gin actually wanted an answer, or if the kitsune was yanking his chain in some sort of way.

Without saying a word, Byakuya walked around Gin, not answering his question.

"Oi! Was that too simple a question?" Gin asked, skipping along behind Byakuya. "Ok, 'ow 'bout your dreams? No? Any strange yearnings then?"

Byakuya continued to ignore his companion. Yearnings? Knowing Gin, he probably meant it in a sexual manner. He wasn't going to answer any one of those questions. He had been able to see Gin since the day his grandfather had passed away when he was 6, but that didn't he understood the creature.

"Not gonna answer me on those either are ya?" Gin asked rhetorically. "Fine, did ya know what day yesterday was?"

Now Byakuya had had just about enough. He stopped in his tracks, nearly causing Gin to walk right in to him.

"Yesterday was a Tuesday, you fool," Byakuya said coldly. He had expected the kitsune to start cackling, like he usually did.

"Wrong," Gin whispered. "Yesterday was the 27th of June."

That was not what he had been expecting, but Byakuya wasn't all that surprised either.

"What would that have to do with me?" It made have seemed like a rather harsh comment, but to Byakuya it was rather redundant in the grand scheme of things. As long as he could look after Rukia and continue working as the shrine's resident priest, little else mattered.

Gin laughed, with a sly smile on his face. "The 27th of June is a very important date. I'm surprised ya don' know 'bout it. Ginrei shoulda told ya 'bout it. "

Gin had obviously been expecting some sort of reaction by now, but Byakuya wouldn't give him the gratification just yet.

"Fine, I'll give ya a hint," Gin said, putting a finger to his lips. "Someone died yesterday, give or take 'bout 400 years ago."

"Excuse me?"

What could Byakuya say, really? Here was a kitsune, messenger of the Inari and other kami, telling him that someone died 400 years ago. 150 people died each minute, meaning 151600 died each day. So the statement in itself was nothing special, especially if it was someone that had died 400 years ago. Gin might be a messenger of the kami, but Byakuya knew that he also loved his tricks, and the priest often found himself the target of said tricks. Gin couldn't have been anymore vague. Was it someone important? Could it have been an ancestor of the Kuchiki family or one of Gin relatives?

"Ya heard me," was the whimsical reply. "C'mon, follow me."

Gin walked back to the sakura grove, making a b-line for the waterfall. Byakuya didn't follow at first. He waited to see if Gin had anything malicious planned, but the kitsune was walking like he always did. He had a spring in his step and swayed his tails from side to side excessively as he walked. Byakuya wished that Gin could have forgone the humming though.

Reluctantly, Byakuya followed. Gin was waiting at the edge of the lake, his white kariginu sleeves and tails moving with the breeze. It was in that moment that moment when Byakuya actually saw Gin as a mythical creature and not an annoying friend. He knew that Gin was powerful, but the fact that he was on such friendly terms with the kitsune caused him to sometimes to forget that important fact.

"Ya see that tree up there?" Gin asked.

Byakuya didn't need to look to know which tree he was referring to.

"You're talking about the shidarezakura I assume?"

Gin turned his head and smiled at him, his eyes open. "The very one."

Byakuya looked up at the tree. Since it was summer, the blossoms had long since fallen and the green leaves had grown in their place. The shidarezakura almost looked like a weeping willow tree in summer. Looking at it for a moment longer, Byakuya thought he would find a wondering soul floating about its branches, but there was nothing.

"And, are you going to telling me why I had to follow you here?"

Gin had his usual grin in place. "It's a pretty tree, isn't it?"

All Byakuya did was blink, and Gin was gone. Standing alone at the water's edge, he looked up at the shidarezakura and the waterfall. He had always had a nostalgic feeling towards this place. Byakuya frowned. There wasn't any obvious spiritual presence, but there were traces of it, and it was unlike the kind that Gin left behind.

Not seeing what Gin wanted him to see, Byakuya returned to the main shrine and was glad that there were no visitors. Not that he didn't want them, because he would never say no to their donations, be they food or money. He just wasn't in the mood to deal with people, or kitsune for that matter.

Byakuya put all his supplies away and checked the time on his phone. He hadn't realized that he had spent so much time clean the shrines. He had just enough time to change and be in time to pick up Rukia from school. He went back to the family home and changed into a pair of jeans and a plain long-sleeved t-shirt.

"Ne, Byakuya?" Gin asked when the priest walked out of the house.

"Lounging on the roof again I see," Byakuya remarked, hoping to dodge any more pointless questions.

Gin swayed his tail from side to side as he stretched out on the warm roof tiles. "Wha' can I say? It's the best spot for sunbathing."

Rolling onto his stomach, Gin watched Byakuya put on his shoes. The latter chose to ignore the kitsune. He should probably buy the annoying creature some dried permissions on the way home. That would at least shut him up for a few hours, nearly three if he bought a large packet of them.

"Watch over the shrine until I get back," Byakuya ordered.

Walking down the steps, Byakuya set off to Rukia's elementary school. With any luck, he might get in and out of there before any of the single mother's or nannies. He was always accosted with gifts or marriage proposals, and lately, the women had started trying to get to him through Rukia. Byakuya couldn't believe that some women, not all mind, tried to use his 5 year old sister.

Byakuya made it to the school with a handful of minutes to spare. He looked around and found that many of the usual crowd of woman actually appeared to be waiting for him. Luckily, before any of them had the chance to approach him, the final bell rung and children came running out.

"Nii-sama!"

Rukia ran towards Byakuya and hugged him around his legs. He really should talk to her about behaving when in public. Taking her hand, Byakuya started their walk back home before anyone decided it was a good idea to have a chat with him.

"Is Gin-san back yet?" Rukia asked, looking up at her brother.

"He returned earlier today," he said.

"He won't be sleeping when we get back home, will he?"

"You'll have to wait and see," Byakuya said. It was not the first time that he wondered why Rukai was able to see Gin or other creatures of the spirit world, but he still liked to wonder over it occasionally. "But, we first have to go to the store to buy some food for tonight."

"Okay!"

Byakuya was glad for some time alone. Rukia had been put to bed and Gin had wondered off somewhere. The two of them together were certainly a force to be reckoned with. The noise level alone would drive anyone else mad.

Quietly, Byakuya slipped out of the house and walked around the grounds. He liked going for a leisurely walk at night before bed. The breeze from earlier was back and he regretted not taking a jacket with him, but he had walked too far to bother going back for one now.

The wind aside, it was a beautiful night. Byakuya was constantly around people during the day, helping shrine visitors or spending time with Sena and Hinamori or Izuru and Ukitake when they were around. He also had his hands full with Rukia most of the time. Late at night was the only time Byakuya was really alone. Normally, that would have been fine, rather, he would welcome it, but in the last few days he found himself feeling lonely.

Byakuya took a moment to take in his surroundings. He was further away from the house than he intended to be. He was also near the waterfall and the shidarezakura. Not really thinking on anything particular, Byakuya walked up a separate path to the top of the waterfall and sat at the base of the sakura tree. It wasn't the oldest one on the grounds, but it certainly had the most spirit energy gathered around it.

Taking in a deep breath, Byakuya started to relax. The sound of the water, chirping crickets and the breeze blowing through the trees was truly relaxing. After a while, Byakuya's mind started to wonder to what Gin had said earlier.

Someone had died 400 years ago. That person, whoever they were, was somehow connected to the shidarezakura in some way. It certainly wasn't a malicious spirit that needed to be exorcized; otherwise it would have made its presence known long ago. Byakuya wasn't the most experienced onmyouji, since he was only 26 years old and his grandfather had died 20 years ago before he could really teach him anything. His father had not inherited any form of power, not even the Sight. Luckily, Ukitake Jushiro had joined their shrine as a young priest and was himself an onmyouji. He was able to teach Byakuya what he knew.

There was nothing other than a lingering feeling of sadness and the traces of another creature. Maybe Gin was just playing a trick on him, as usual.

**Hey, SourFox here. I hope you all enjoyed the prologue. I thought I'd dip my toes into something different and try writing a fanfic. I know I was vague on a few things, but I hope there was enough to pique your interest to stick around for the rest of the story. **

**Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated. **


	2. Candy Bearing Stranger

**Title: The Baboon King and the Cherry Blossom**

**Rating: M**

**Summary: Byakuya is quite content with his life as a resident priest at the shrine. With Gin, a kitsune, as a friend, times are never dull. With the arrival of a mysterious cloaked figure at the dead of night, things are about to get more interesting for Byakuya. **

**A/N: I'd just like to say thank you to eliza, Guest 1, Guest 2 and PaulaGay for reviewing and to everyone else who put an alert of fa****v****e on the story. **

**Guest 2: This story will not feature male pregnancy, but it might feature in another story if I can come up with a reason plausible enough to allow male pregnancy. **

**Chapter 01: Candy ****B****earing Stranger **

"Wha' did I tell ya?"

Renji regarded the kitsune with a glance before he pulled the fur cloak about his body to guard himself from the cold. He didn't like kitsune on principle, but even he could admit that they were resourceful at times.

From the shadows Renji watched the young kannushi sit beneath the sakura tree. It was still too early to hope. The young man certainly looked like one from the Kuchiki. Really, what had they been reduced to? The Kuchiki had been a powerful samurai clan not too long ago, and now they were simple shrine keepers. It was pitiful.

"You might not have lied to me," Renji started, "but, his appearance doesn't automatically make him the right one. Unless there's something else you're not telling me about?"

Gin grinned at the youkai, tossing around a satsuma citrus like a ball. Renji really didn't like his face. It always had a fixed expression. He had come a far way at Gin's request, but he didn't really see a reason for him to linger in the human world, much less on shrine grounds.

"Well, I migh've left out a teensy lil' detail," Gin said with an annoying drag in his voice.

Renji glared at Gin from beneath the baboon skull on his head. "What?"

"Go back to the house an' look inta the third window on the second storey on the south side."

Renji had had just about enough of the kitsune. Grabbing Gin by the collar of his hitoe, Renji pulled him off of the branch next to him and let the kitsune hang. After a few moments, Renji pulled Gin up so that they were face to face. Renji was strong enough that Gin's weight was barely noticeable, but that didn't mean he wouldn't lose his grip and let the kitsune fall a few hundred metres. The damned fox still had the gall to casually toss his fruit in and out of his hands, using his magic to make it float around Renji's head.

"I see ya eyes from 'ere ya know," Gin informed him.

It wasn't that Gin hadn't seen his face before; it was just that Renji had taken a habit of hiding underneath the skull for the last handful of centuries. The skull only covered him from the top of his head to his cheekbones. The fur was still attached to the skull, and was long enough to cover his entire body. It had actually been a close friend of his that had died. It would have been a waste if he hadn't used the fur and bones.

"What I am going to find in that house?" Renji asked.

"Wha'll be the point in me tellin' ya?"

Renji simply let go of Gin's hitoe and let him fall. It wouldn't kill him, but it would shut the fox up for a while. Gin hit a few branches on his fall down, but managed to create an anti-gravitational bubble around the estimated spot of impact. Renji was disappointed. He stared down at the kitsune as he floated around above the ground like he was swimming underwater.

Renji looked over to the kannushi one more time. The young man might not possess the same battle prowess or noble wealth as his ancestors did, but the human was still as fine-looking as they were. There was definitely something nostalgic about watching the kannushi sitting beneath the tree. It was an unwelcome feeling.

Sighing to himself, Renji made his way to the house Gin talked about. It took him less than a minute to find the house. Leaping from the tree, he crouched down onto his haunches, staring up at the window on the second storey. He wasn't actually going to go in; he would just look inside through the window. Digging the heel of his palm into his temple gave Renji a few seconds to consider if he was actually going to go through with it.

Kitsune were notorious throughout the spirit world as tricksters, and those were the good kind that were usually merchants or messengers by trade. The bad kind, the nogitsune, were merciless, malicious beings that worked as thieves or mercenaries. Now Gin having shiny silver fur was a sure-fire way to tell he was a regular kitsune in service to the kami. Knowing all of that didn't stop Renji from having doubts. The last time he had went on just Gin's word almost ended disastrously. Needless to say, he was now rather skittish around lucky cat statues.

Quietly, Renji jumped up and grabbed onto the end of the roof, hanging from it as he tried to look inside. It was useless. He couldn't see a thing with the curtains drawn.

"What a pain," he said to himself. "I could've been at home by now."

Renji dropped onto the windowsill and propped his chin up in his palm. What to do? He could always open the window, draw back the curtains and look inside, but at the same time, he could also just go home. Renji had to admit though, he was curious about what was in that room.

Turning on the balls of his feet, Renji faced the window and quietly slid it open. It wasn't even locked. Carefree humans. Reaching out, he pulled the curtain aside. Renji frowned when all he saw a bedroom. Even though it was night, Renji could see the room clearly. The room was cluttered with stuffed animals and drawings – it looked like a little girl's room.

"What is that damn kitsune trying to get at?" Renji asked.

The bed was empty. Renji wondered where the kid had come off to. It probably the kannushi's kid, but he was still curious about why it would be significant. Hopping in from the window, Renji picked up a large stuffed bunny that was tucked in under the duvet.

"Let go of Chappy!"

Renji only had time to turn his head in the direction of the voice when something ricocheted off of his baboon skull. A small, dark-haired, blue-eyed girl stood in the doorway, hurriedly making another paper ball to throw at him. Renji stood there staring at the girl with the stuffed animal still in his hands. She couldn't have been older than six and yet she stood there, bombarding him with paper balls to try and get her toy back.

The fact that she could see Renji was a big deal, even if she was the kannushi's kid, she still shouldn't have been able to see him because the power of Sight was only passed on after the predecessor's death. He also decided that she either really wanted the bunny back, or she had never heard of youkai before, because Renji knew that his appearance was the furthest thing from friendly.

Renji walked towards her and smiled when she stopped throwing things at him, but stood her ground, looking up at him with big, angry eyes. Wasn't that just cute? As he got closer, he could see her face more clearly, and froze when she looked him right in the eye.

_She looks just like-_

"Hey mister," the girl said, "you better give Chappy back or I'll tell Nii-sama on you!"

Renji looked down at her and crouched down to her level. He held out the toy at arm's length, waiting to see what she was going to do. The girl snatched the toy and ran past Renji, jumping onto her bed, holding the bunny to her body like shield. So, she's wasn't the kannushi's kid, but still related.

"Che, must be some special toy if you attacked me with nothing but paper, kid," Renji said, hoping to start a conversation to get some information about her and the kannushi.

"Chappy isn't a toy, he's my friend! Nii-sama gave him to me," the girl all but shouted.

"Whatever."

The girl stuck her tongue out at him. The brat was cheeky, Renji would give her that much. He sat down near the bed and reached into his sleeve for the small pouch of candy he kept. He didn't particularly like sweets, but he had developed a habit of carrying them around for those of his companions who did. He took a few of the coloured star-shaped sweets for himself and threw the pouch at the girl.

"Nii-sama says I shouldn't take candy from strangers," she said with a pout, obviously wanting to at least taste the sweets.

"It's not my problem if you eat 'em or not," Renji answered. "You got a name kid?"

The girl tossed a piece of candy into her mouth and smiled as it dissolved into her mouth. "You got a name mister?"

"I asked you first brat!"

"I shouldn't tell my name to strangers," she said, popping a handful of candy into her mouth.

"Cheeky human brat," he mumbled. "It's Renji."

"I'm Rukia. Kuchiki Rukia."

Renji watched as Rukia ate more of his candy. She seemed more interested in the sweets than the fact that there was a youkai in her room. Renji sat there in silence. That sense of nostalgia was back with a vengeance. Renji grimaced as a sour taste filled his mouth. He must've eaten a green star. If there was something he liked less than candy, it was sour or bitter flavoured candy. He used to carry them around for a friend and used them as a bargaining chip, but that person was long gone. He couldn't help but be a people pleaser.

"Is there something wrong with your face?" Rukia asked.

"No, there's nothing wrong with my face," Renji answered.

"Are you ugly?"

"No."

"Then why do you wear a funny mask?"

"It's not a mask," Renji said, pulling the skull lower until the fangs scrapped against his cheeks. "It was a friend."

"Like Chappy?"

Renji didn't really understand the comparison. The stuffed animal was an inanimate object, his used to be a living, breathing creature. Then again, he was talking to a little human girl, so he doubted she would understand if he tried to explain it to her.

"Yeah, like Chappy," he said lamely.

"Where do you come from?" Rukia asked.

Renji smiled. "Somewhere far away from here."

"Do you visit the shrine a lot?"

"Nah, I don't like them that much, and kannushi don't like me much either."

Rukai looked confused. "Kannushi?"

Renji sighed. He knew that a language barrier would come up sooner or later. He was talking to a kid after all.

"Kannushi, they're people who work at shrines, like your brother, a priest."

"So, Kira and Ukitake-san are kannushi too?"

Renji sighed. This kid liked to ask questions.

"I dunno, maybe they are if they work here."

Rukia looked at the bag of candy in her hands. "If people like Nii-sama don't like you, then are you a bad person?"

How was he supposed to answer that?

"I used to be a bad person," Renji said, thinking back to his younger days.

Rukia moved around on her bed, pulling the duvet around her, the bag of candy still in her hands and Chappy in her lap. The kid looked too cute.

"You said you were a bad person, so you're not anymore, right Renji-san?" Rukia asked. It almost looked like she was desperate for his answer.

"No, not anymore," Renji said with a shrug. "But, if people look for trouble with what's mine, then I become a very bad person."

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't. You're, what, 4 years old? You should still be blowing snot bubbles for fun."

Rukia scrunched up her face as she got angry. "I'm 5 and a half! I'm a big girl!"

"Right, and I'm the Spirit King."

Renji saw a shadow moving in the corner of his eye. What could that be? It couldn't be anything malicious or powerful because there were various barriers placed around the shrine grounds and especially around the house. The only reason Renji was able to pass through freely was because he knew this type of onmyoudou. He was also on good terms with Gin, the shrine guardian and messenger. If it happened to be a powerful youkai, it was probably one that had been sealed away by an onmyouji and recently broke free and now sought revenge upon that onmyouji's descendants. It was not an uncommon occurrence.

Hearing a drawn out yawn, Renji looked back to Rukia, who looked just about ready to fall asleep, but was trying very hard to stay awake.

"See, you're still a kid, and kids need to sleep," Renji said, getting up from the floor. He walked over to the window, hopping onto the windowsill.

"Wait, Renji-san!"

Next thing Renji knew, the kid was trying to pull him back into the room by the fur of his cloak. She would never actually succeed in pulling him back in with her own strength, but he saw that shadow again. Turning back in to the room, Renji picked Rukia up and put her in bed, keeping his eyes on the shadow between two stuffed animals. A small figure appeared between the gap. It was a small ikiryou, the size of his hand. They usually served as servants for powerful youkai, kami and ayakashi. This ikiryou was dressed in red, pink and green – the colours representative of its master. Renji knew those colours.

"What is it brat?"

Rukia looked at Renji with her big, blue eyes and pout. "Do you have to go?"

"Yeah," he said, "I've got a home too, you know?"

Rukia started to pout even more.

"But," Renji couldn't believe he what he was doing, "who knows? I might be back in a few days."

"Really?" Rukia's expression changed so suddenly, it looked like someone had flipped a switch.

"Hey, I'm not promising anything, I'm a very busy man, but don't lock your window at night, okay?"

"Okay!"

Renji rushed out of the window before he performed any more acts of stupidity. He really shouldn't have opened that window.

**O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O**

Byakuya closed the door behind him. It was almost midnight. Stepping out of his shoes, he went to the kitchen to get a drink of water and headed upstairs. As he passed Rukia's room to get to his own, Byakuya froze. Traces of energy were clinging to Rukia's door. Byakuya felt his chest tighten. He didn't know how anything could have gotten past the barriers, only Gin could do that. He pulled a sheaf of binding paper from his back pocket, ready to bind anything that maybe in Rukia's room.

He opened the door, expecting to find an ayakashi, but was surprised to find nothing but a sleeping girl. Byakuya frowned. The energy left by whatever had been in the room was red in colour and mainly gathered around a spot on the floor, near Rukia's bed and something she held in her hands.

He went over to Rukia's bed and gently extracted the object she was holding to her chest, which for once was not Chappy. Byakuya looked at the pouch in his hands. It was made form purple silk and particularly light in weight. Turning his attention to the window, Byakuya noticed it was unlocked and quickly locked it, making a mental note to add an additional barrier later. He shut the curtain and left eh room quietly.

Deciding to forgo sleep, Byakuya went to his study. He prepared four paper seals and placed them around the pouch on his desk. He wasn't about to risk losing a hand when he opened it. Quickly, he opened the pouch by its drawstrings and pulled his hand back. Nothing had manifested itself. That was good.

Putting his hand back within the confines of the barrier, Byakuya took the end of the pouch and emptied it out. Dozens of coloured candy stars scattered over his desk. He had seen many things that were kept in silk pouches over the years, such as severed fingers, hair, cursed objects, but never candy.

Picking up a green star, Byakuya examined it more closely. It didn't look like anything he had ever bought for Rukia, and if it had been a gift from a friend at school, then it was very unlike Rukia to keep it from him without offering to share. Then again, what child would put candy in to a silk pouch as a gift. It seemed more like something an adult would do.

He looked over to the strips of paper that acted as a barrier. They hadn't reacted at all when the candy spilled out from the pouch. It was then probably safe to say that they weren't poisonous, or so he hoped. He knew Rukia was weak to resist any type of sweet, she was still a child after all, so he would have to examine her in the morning to see if she had suffered any ill effects from the candy.

Rolling the candy star between his fingers, Byakuya wondered if he should eat one, just to see if it really did have any side effects. Without thinking anymore on it, he put it in his mouth and felt a shiver run down his spine when an intense sour flavour swept over his tongue. It certainly didn't taste bad. He waited another moment of two and when nothing happened, Byakuya reached for another green star.

_I'm only testing to see if these are safe for Rukia to eat,_ he told himself. _Besides, she hates anything sour._

**O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O**

The next morning, Byakuya examined Rukia for any kind of fever or unexplained blemish on her skin, but luckily there was nothing to worry over. She was still herself. He had returned the pouch of candy to her room before he woke her up, but now it was missing all the green stars.

Byakuya was busy preparing breakfast while in the kitchen while Rukia packed away her bento box into her back pack. He noticed that she put in the pouch of candy in as well.

"Rukia?"

"Yes, Nii-sama?" she replied politely.

"Where did you get those sweets from?" he asked.

Byakuya watched as Rukia set their plates and cutlery on the table. She was now suddenly very immersed in the task.

"Rukia."

"There was a strange man in my room last night. He was wearing a funny mask, but he wasn't a bad person, he gave Chappy back to me and even gave me the candy," she said in a flurry.

"Did he want anything?"

Rukia shook her head. "No, but he said that Nii-sama wouldn't like him very much."

Byakuya dished up the eggs, bacon and toast in their plates and sat down at the table, looking at Rukia.

"Oh, and why would that be?" he asked.

"He said that priests don't like him because he used to be a bad person, but he really isn't!"

Byakuya found that interesting. If the creature had said that he wouldn't like him, then it meant that the creature had a bad association with kannushi, which made the possibility that the creature was a youkai or an oni even greater.

"Did this person have a name?" he asked.

"Yeah, his name is Renji."

That name didn't sound familiar to Byakuya, but he knew who would be able to help him.

"Let's eat before the food gets cold. Itadakimasu."

They ate in silence. Byakuya did the dishes while they waited for the time to pass. Once that was done, he took Rukia to school, but stopped before he let he disappear into the school.

"Rukia, I want you to keep this with you at all times, wear it around your neck and don't take it off unless you're at home," Byakuya said, pulled a small green omamori from his pocket. He had made it last night and adjusted it so that it could be worn as a necklace underneath clothes. He had cast all the protective spells himself, as well as folded the rectangular green paper casing himself. The entire charm was put into a rectancular cloth that he had stitched shut. It was decorated with 3 different coloured sakura blossoms and had the shrine's symbol sistched on it as well. It looked like an ordinary omamori, but it was 3 times more powerful.

He slipped it over her head and put his hands on her shoulders.

"If you see anything strange, no, if any of the ayakashi approach you or act differently around you, I want you to tell either myself or Ukitake. Do you understand?"

"Yes Nii-sama."

Byakuya could see that she wanted to ask him questions, but the bell had rung and children were going inside. He let her go and went off, making his way back to the shrine, but took a detour to the neighbourhood mom and pop store. He stood in front of the store, glaring at the sign that read: Urahara Shoten. He tried to avoid the place as much as possible, but sometimes he didn't have a choice.

He opened the door and walked past the various displays and shelves of candy and toys, heading straight for the cashier's counter.

"Ah, Byakuya-san, what an unexpected pleasure it is to see you here in my store," Urahara said as he came out from the storeroom. "What can I do for you today?"

"What do you know about these?" Byakuya asked as he held out a see-through packet containing some of the candy that the youkai had given Rukia.

"My my, what do we have here?" Urahara smiled and gestured for Byakuya to walk on towards the back and into his home.

Once they were seated by the kotatsu, Byakuya handover the candy and Urahara immediately held one up and put it in his mouth. He really didn't understand that man. What if the candy had been cursed or poisoned? He watched as Urahara put another candy in his mouth, this time a green star.

"Sweet and sour candy," Urahara mumbled. "What were they in?"

Byakuya showed him a photo of the pouch he had taken with his cell phone.

"Well, this is definitely candy from the spirit world, but they don't come mixed like this," the shopkeeper said. "Another is that silk like that, and in that specific purple is quite expensive. Where did you get it?"

"A youkai gave it to Rukia last night while I was outside on the grounds," Byakuya answered. "However, Rukia was able to get a name from the youkai. She said his name is Renji. Should this name be of any particular interest to me?"

"Firstly, his full name is Abarai Renji, and secondly, he is a very powerful nue youkai. I believe, however, that he has no interest in harming either you or your sister."

"How can you be sure?"

Urahara tipped the brim of his hat down slightly. "I can't be sure, but the fact that you and your sister are in possession of that pouch of candy should be proof that he won't harm you. I've heard stories that he keeps it on his person at all times, so it is curious why he would choose to hand it over to Rukia, especially if he knew she was protected by an onmyouji such as yourself and Ukitake-san."

Before Byakuya could ask any further questions, his phone rang. It was Ukitake.

"Yes?"

"Byakuya, someone requested our services. They suspect it's a vengeful spirit. Will you be able to accompany me tonight?"

Byakuya wasn't keen on leaving Rukia alone, but he did need all the practise he could get when it came to onmyoudou, and the fact that he got paid for it didn't hurt either. "I will see you tonight at the shrine gates."

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. So, I put in a two little tributes to two other manga/anime series and I'm curious to see if anyone can spot them, granted that one is a lot more obvious than the other. For those who don't know, a kannushi is a Shinto priest and an onmyouji is like a sorcerer or exorcist, they are capable of cast spells and creating shikigami to do their bidding. An ikiryou is a living spirit. **

**Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated. **


	3. Crossing Over

**Title: The Baboon King and the Cherry Blossom**

**Rating: M**

**Summary: Byakuya is quite content with his life as a resident priest at the shrine. With Gin, a kitsune, as a friend, times are never dull. With the arrival of a mysterious cloaked figure at the dead of night, things are about to get more interesting for Byakuya. **

**A/N: This chapter is about two months late. Sorry about that. I'll try to stick to a stricter schedule from now on. Thank you to Eva Galana, CallMeSenseiKuchiki, Renjimaru87 and Renji-Bya-Lover for their reviews and everyone who put up alerts and faved this story. **

**Chapter 02: Crossing Over**

It had all gone wrong. Nearly everything that could have gone wrong with the job had happened in the first twenty minutes when Byakuya and Ukitake had arrived at the construction site.

Byakuya pressed his hand to his side. A long piece of metal debris had pierced right through the left-hand side of his body, and now it was stuck. It seemed like it had avoided any major arteries, but he couldn't be too sure. He knew that as it was now, jutting out of from his back and front, it stopped the bleeding, but it also meant he couldn't move. If he couldn't move, they would find him sooner or later, and he would be killed. He needed to find a first aid kit.

Sitting up against a wall, Byakuya tilted his head back a little and looked at his surroundings. It was dark, and he could barely make out the crates, forklifts or the other construction material. He guessed that he was in a storage room that was a little further away from the main area of the construction site.

_There has to be something I can use_, he thought. Everything in sight was either a crate or large tools that were useless to him.

Looking down at his person, Byakuya saw that some of the buttons on his shirt had torn off, and his jeans were dirty and torn in a few places. He could try and remove his shirt and use it as a makeshift bandage. It would take time, and it would be painful, but it was the only option that he seemed to have at present.

Awkwardly pressing his left hand around the debris, Byakuya started to unbutton his shirt with his right hand, pushing off of the wall to sit forward. His abdominal muscles trembled at the sudden movement, making the pain worse. Byakuya ground his teeth together and let out a low groan, trying to control himself.

Byakuya grabbed the right side of the shirt and tried to pull it off, but he could only get it past his shoulder. Taking a portion of the shirt into his mouth, he used the grip his teeth had on the shirt as leverage to free the rest of his arm from the sleeve. It was a struggle because of the awkward position and the pain in his side, but he managed to get his arm free. He stopped for a moment to try and get his breath back before his proceeded.

Carefully, he separated his shirt from his undershirt, both wet and stuck together with blood. He quickly put his left hand back, pressing as close to the debris as he could without jarring it. It was more difficult to remove the last part of his shirt when the material caught against the other end of the debris. He had to tug it free, causing the debris to shift and widen the wound.

"Damn," he cursed with a shaken voice.

He quickly tore up his shirt into a long strips and put them in his lap. Once he removed the debris he would have to act quickly to minimalize the bleeding that would follow.

Byakuya tried to get the best grip he could, but the piece of metal was slick with blood. He ground his teeth again and started to pull it out. It hurt, but he didn't have any other choice if he wanted to survive. He pulled with all his strength, but it only moved a few millimetres at a time. He started to bleed again, but not by much. It seemed like he had overestimated the damage that had been caused by the metal, but it still hurt. Pausing, Byakuya took a deep breath and then took hold of the metal with both of his hands and pulled.

The debris didn't move for a moment, but then the entire length of metal pulled free. Unable to help it any longer, Byakuya let out a cry of pain and folded in on himself, pressing his head between his knees, keeping his hands to the wound. Blood trickled through his hands, so with shaking fingers, Byakuya tied his shirt strips over the wound as tightly as he could. It made the pain worse, but it did slow the bleeding a bit.

Satisfied with his work, Byakuya leaned back against the cold wall. He just sat there for moment, not worrying about anyone or anything. He could have easily stayed there and given in to his exhaustion, but the moment passed and Byakuya started getting to his feet, using the wall behind him for support. Once he was confident he wouldn't fall over, Byakuya walked about the storeroom, his posture a little hunched, with his right hand over his wound. First he needed to find some sort of equipment to defend himself with. Only after he had accomplished that could he worry about Ukitake.

As he picked his way through the crates, Byakuya found a prybar, tool belt, flashlight and a nail gun. It was certainly not the equipment he was trained to handle, but having lost his bag, long with his tanto and bow, Byakuya was not spoiled for choice. Buckling the belt around his waist, he put the prybar and the nail gun in the slots so that they would be easier to carry around. Byakuya took four extra magazines for the nail, just in case.

When he switched on the flashlight, Byakuya made sure to not shine the light near the window, or too high. He searched the room for a map, and found one that was fixed to the wall. He quickly tried to remember where he and Ukitake had gotten separated. It was quite far from his current position. The construction site was large, so Ukitake could have wondered off somewhere else, but Byakuya needed to start somewhere. Byakuya memorised as much of the map as he could before he left the storeroom. He inched closer to the door, switching off the flashlight. He peered through the open door, looking for signs of the demons they had encountered.

Byakuya and Ukitake had come to the site, under the impression that they would be dealing with a nogitsune or an oni, so they were ill prepared for the demons. Creatures of foreign countries were easiest to slay with weapons from their country of origin, and the demons from the western parts of the world were no exception. The Kuchiki clan had a large cache of weapons from all over the world stored underneath the shrine grounds in a place called the Archives, but he had no way of getting those weapons now.

Seeing no sight of them, Byakuya cautiously walked on, looking this way and that. His steps were careful and as quiet as possible. He needed to go across an open area between the offices and storage rooms to get to the construction site. From there, he needed to head up to the second level and hope that Ukitake had not gone too far. It was still hazy how he had found himself so far away from that point, but at the time he concentrated solely on running away from the demon that had been chasing him.

Byakuya walked to the edge of the last storage room and stopped, looking out at the open expanse between him and the construction site. It was three hundred metres of ground that had nothing that Byakuya could use to hide behind if he encountered a demon. It would be problematic. He knew that at least one of the demons was capable of long ranged attacks. Usually, that wouldn't have been a problem in the first place, but he had lost all the fuda paper he had brought with him, so he could not summon up shiki to act as he defence or offense.

Putting his back to the wall, he took a moment to gather his breath and watched for any of the demons that could be patrolling the area. He didn't actually know how many there were, but he knew there was more than one of them, but he was not foolish enough to think he could take them head-on, not in his current state.

"You've finally come out to play, human."

Byakuya's blood ran cold. He looked up and saw the demon that had been chasing him earlier sitting on the roof. He couldn't make out its shape too well, but he didn't have the luxury of observation at the moment. Acting quickly, he shone the flashlight up at the demon, momentarily blinding it. He noted that the demon had a feline-like appearance and had blue hair. Taking the nail gun in hand, he aimed at the demon and fired. Most of the nails bounced of its armoured body, but one or two nails hit the open expanse at the demon's chest.

The demon shrieked and reared back from it position over the side of the roof. Byakuya took the opportunity to run, forgetting his previous fear of the space between him and the construction site. He ran as fast as his injury would allow him. He could still hear the demon's cries of pain, but he knew that it would regenerate quickly. He only managed to get so far because the demon had not expected the attack. He needed more than a prybar and a nail gun to kill a demon, like a silver sword, or anything that was silver pointy really. Western demons had a lethal allergic reaction to silver, so if Byakuya somehow managed to get his hands on something as small and ridiculous as a silver spoon, he could do a great deal more damage to the demon.

As he neared the skeletal steel structure of the site, Byakuya heard the demon let out a loud shriek. Shooting a demon capable of regeneration with a nail gun was perhaps not his brightest idea, because now the demon was angry. Angry demons liked to play with their prey.

Without stopping, Byakuya continued to run in the general direction of the elevator. If he retraced his steps, he might be lucky enough to find his bag, but Byakuya knew it was just wishful thinking. He rounded a corner when he stepped on something.

Against his better judgement, Byakuya paused to look down and picked up what looked like a shard of bronze metal. As far as he could tell it was definitely part of a larger design from its rounded edge and the fine decoration along the edge. Shaking his head, Byakuya pocketed the shard.

_Why did I stop to look at that shard?_ he asked himself. It didn't make sense. He was in a life-and-death situation, and because of that, he should not have gotten distracted by a pretty piece of metal.

He heard a disgruntled sound not too far from him. It sounded nothing like the demon, so Byakuya inched closer to the source. It was dark inside the building, but he could only make out the silhouette of the figure lying on the floor. As he got closer, Byakuya noticed the smell of drying blood, and a heavy, ash-like odour that hung around the figure.

The figure moved and looked up at Byakuya. It was the oni that he had been sent to deal with. It was male, bald and had some sort of markings by its eyes, but what defined it as an oni was its smell and the two horns that protruded from its forehead. It wore a tiger skin wrapped around its waist, with a red sashinuki hakama.

"The mirror," the oni said as he lifted his hand, reaching out to Byakuya. "Give… back."

Byakuya quickly backed away and ran again. He rounded another corner and stopped. He looked around. He had been there before. He recognised the nest of twisted barbed wire that lay in the corner. Byakuya took a deep breath then decided to go back the way he had come. _I just took a wrong turn_, he told himself.

Byakuya didn't run as fast as he had before so that he could more carefully observe his surroundings, but he would be lying to himself if he said that that was all it was. He was tired and in pain. He slowed down to a walk as he neared the place of his entry to the building. So far, Byakuya hadn't seen or heard the demon and he knew better than to think that he had frightened it off.

Looking ahead of him, Byakuya expected to see the large steel beams of the exterior of the building, but all he saw was a half-finished wall and the familiar barbed wire in the corner.

"Shit," he whispered.

It was seldom that he swore, but Byakuya had foolishly walked into a trap. He knew that from the current circumstance that he had been placed under an illusion of some sort that affected his senses and those were tricky to break free of.

"Is the little human lost?"

Byakuya jerked into motion and ran. The demon had caught up with him. He had hoped that he had bought himself enough time to Ukitake, but he now realised that it had been foolish to hope for such a feat. He just ran, not caring where he would land up, as long as it was far away from the demon. It was useless. He ran into the same large room each time, not matter how many times he changed his direction.

"Keep running little human," the demon taunted. "Try to find your human friends. Try to escape your fate."

Byakuya put his shoulder to the wall and pressed a hand to his wound. The makeshift bandage was wet with blood. He would start to feel dizzy from blood loss sooner or later. He looked around and saw that there was a lamp hanging not too far off. He was sure that that was not there before when he had entered that room for the first time.

"Has the little human given up?" the demon asked.

Byakuya did not have the strength or need to answer. He heard a thump as something landed near him. The light from the lamp was just enough for him to see the demon that was scant metres away. The armour he noticed before seemed natural from the way it was segmented and warped around the demon's body, and the blue hair was long, going far past its waist.

The demon stood up from its crouch. It regarded Byakuya with bright blue eyes, much like a predator would its prey.

"We weren't expecting to find humans like you here," the demon said. "We were told that only weaklings wandered around here, scaring humans for fun. It's a nice surprise."

Byakuya glared up at the demon. He didn't want to make small talk, and if it insisted on any more of it, he would have to resort to talking with it. Byakuya glanced at the demon's chest where the nails had pierced it, and found that the wounds had already healed completely.

"What? Nothing to say, human, or are you scared?" it asked. The demon flicked its long feline ears as it gave Byakuya a malicious grin. "Looks like your soul would make a good meal - pure and young. Delicious."

Byakuya slowly reached for the prybar. A nail gun would be useless when it came to close combat due to its bulky size, but the prybar would do even less damage to the demon in the end, but he had to try didn't he?

"Who are you?" Byakuya asked. He held the prybar at the ready as he waited for the demon to answer. "I expect an answer."

"You can call me Grimmjow," he said.

Byakuya watched wearily as Grimmjow walked to the side and titled his head in a playful manner with a feral grin spread on his lips. Byakuya waited for Grimmjow to make the first move, even in his current state, he would not be the one to initiate the fight. It would be an insult to him as a onmyouji and a Kuchiki if he had to stoop down to a demon's level.

"Come now, Grimmjow," a deep voice said. "Do not be taunted by his arrogance."

Byakuya felt his breath hitch in his throat. Without giving away his surprise, he turned his head to the side and saw Zommari Leroux, a well-known and feared witch doctor. Byakuya had fought with the man once before, about three years ago, to drive him out of Japan. He had barely survived that fight. He never thought that Zommari would return to Japan so soon.

"You are the reason for the demons' appearance?" Byakuya asked.

Zommari regarded Byakuya with a face of indifference. "Yes, I am the one responsible for their summoning."

"What is your goal?" Byakuya enquired. "Why summon demons to attack youkai?"

"My goal?" Zommari held his hands behind his back and stepped forward into the light cast by the lamp. He wore skull shaped earrings and a bone necklace that rattled faintly as he walked. "I have no goal. I'm simply following the path laid out before me."

Byakuya stood his ground, holding the prybar in his right hand. He was caught between Zommari and Grimmjow. Zommari was closer, but if Byakuya attacked him, the demon would be free to go for his back, but there was not a chance that he would attack Grimmjow head on.

"I'm certainly an easier target, yet you still stand there," Zommari commented. "Is it perhaps that you fear the demon?"

Zommari looked to Grimmjow. "Go find the other onmyouji, he should not be far."

"I want to play with this human," Grimmjow snapped. "The other one is sickly and his soul isn't as strong as this one's."

"That was an order, not a request."

Grimmjow growled, and stared at Zommari in the eyes. Zommari looked back at the demon, not blinking the entire time. With a snarl, Grimmjow inclined his head and left. Byakuya looked back at the witch doctor. He did not expect Zommari to have had that much control over the demon. Had they established a contract?

Zommari drew a sword and held it pointed at Byakuya. "Now then, shall we continue, Kuchiki Byakuya?"

Byakuya held up the prybar and dodged Zommari's first attack, crouching down and moving away from him, but Byakuya's wound slowed him down. Zommari kicked out as Byakuya dodged the sword, impacting with his stomach.

Byakuya let out a grunt and rolled away. He looked down and saw that his wound was bleeding again, but not enough to be overly concerned. He got up to his feet and readied himself for Zommari's next attack. Zommari was fast and aimed to slip past Byakuya's guard, but he was able to keep up, if barely. Byakuya blocked a strike to his neck, and using both hands on the prybar, he was able to force Zommari back. The sound of the sword scraping against the prybar was unpleasant, not at all like it would have sounded if Byakuya had had his tanto.

Zommari took a step back, and Byakuya advanced on him. He swept the prybar back. With a fluid movement, Byakuya brought the prybar down on Zommari's shoulder, trying to move his hips with the blow as much as he could to add more force. Zommari did not pull away fast enough, and the blow connected with his collarbone, breaking it.

Byakuya scrambled backwards as Zommari started trashing his sword around wildly. He was glad that he was able to inflict that much damage with a single blow, but he also knew that it was only a matter of time before Zommari started using witchcraft and Byakuya nothing to counter that. He knew from experience that his shiki would have been sufficient enough, and that Zommari would not hesitate to exploit his disadvantage.

Zommari took his attention away from his opponent and assessed the damage done to his shoulder. Taking the short reprieve to catch his breath, Byakuya wondered if he could continue. The dizziness he had felt earlier was back.

"A commendable effort, given your condition," Zommari said. "Such a blow would hardly deter me or render me unable to fight. You shall have to do better, Kuchiki Byakuya."

Byakuya felt no need to retort. It was true; he did need to do better. However, what Zommari did not realise was that he had now gone after his pride. There was little Byakuya would not do for the sake of his pride. Ukitake used to tell him that that was what made him a dangerous person. Pride was all he had, his pride as an onmyouji, his pride as a member of the Kuchiki family, and above all, his own pride.

Byakuya stood straight and adjusted his grip on the prybar. If he killed Zommari, the demons would have little reason to stay. The contract would dissolve. Keeping his composure, he watched Zommari carefully. The man started chanting in a language unknown to Byakuya. Zommari tapped the rings on his thumb and forefinger together, and created a spark. Bringing his hand up to his mouth, Zommari tapped the rings again and exhaled strongly. Fire spilled out from his hand and made for Byakuya.

Byakuya tried to dodge it, but the flame followed him like a shadow no matter which way he turned or how fast he rolled. Tired from all the running he had already done, Byakuya slowed down and a fork of the flames washed over his left arm, burning him.

Without anywhere left to run from the flames, Byakuya fell into the wall, trying to keep himself upright. The flames cornered him, curling around him like a serpent that had cornered its prey. Byakuya would not be surprised if Zommari had summoned an Elemental. Elementals were dangerous spirits that lived in nature, but were in essence the embodiment of whatever element they had fused with. Byakuya had the ability to summon up a water Elemental, a mizuchi, but that required fuda paper and neju beads.

Byakuya shielded his face from the flames as they got closer, but the flames suddenly receded. He looked up to see Zommari approaching. The man was directly in front of Byakuya, with the flames curling lazily about them.

"I am disappointed in you, Kuchiki Byakuya," Zommari said. "I had to go to great efforts to learn you name during our first encounter, and now years later, we meet again. You have grown weaker. Your arrogance has finally worn you down and defeated you."

"You talk as if you have already won," Byakuya said. "You are still the arrogant one, not I."

Zommari frowned. "You are still blinded. I will show you the truth soon enough."

Holding his sword up to deliver the finishing blow, Zommari looked his opponent in the eyes, but neglected to notice the oni that Byakuya had encounter earlier stalk towards the witch doctor.

"Give me that mirror back, you bastard!" the oni shouted.

Zommari turned his attention towards the bleeding creature. Byakuya took it as an opportunity and moved quickly to shove the prybar and far and hard through Zommari's body as he could. The man's body jerked with the force. The oni grabbed onto Zommari's shoulder and dug its nails in, tearing at muscle and flesh.

Byakuya saw something slip from Zommari's clothes. The oni snatched it up before he could get a proper look at it and then glared at Byakuya.

A thrumming sound vibrated through the air. Byakuya noticed that it was coming from Zommari. He was still alive and chanted quietly as the thrumming got louder. Byakuya tried to stand but his legs gave out halfway, and sent him crashing into the oni, who had started to scramble away.

The thrumming continued, but Byakuya was too tired to care anymore. His vision dimmed and he lost consciousness.

**O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O**

The first thing he noticed was the smell of moss, water and rotting foliage. It was the smell of a forest. Byakuya tried to wake faster, but his body would not keep up with his mind. He registered the sounds of a waterfall or river that was nearby.

_A river?_ he questioned. Last he checked he had been in the middle of the city, unless he had landed up in a park somewhere nearby.

The more Byakuya woke, the more he remembered. He remembered meeting up with Ukitake at the shrine gates and then setting off to the construction site. He remembered the encounter with the demons and getting wounded and fighting Zommari.

_That's right, _he told himself._ I fell into the oni when we had tried to get away from Zommari's spell._

Byakuya opened his eyes in a series of flutters. It took a while for the sleep to leave his eyes. He could not see much. There was a green shrub in front of him and fallen leaves, but nothing else. He moved his head and brought his right hand under his body to lift himself up. With great effort, he brought his knees up under him as well.

Byakuya stayed in the position for a moment, catching his breath. The wound on the side of his abdomen had worsened and the burns on his left arm rendered the limb useless. He took a deep breath and sat up.

Large trees loomed over Byakuya, and moss-covered rocks dotted the sloping terrain. He looked over his shoulder and saw that a river was indeed not far away. Byakuya decided that he was most definitely in a forest, but it was not one that would be found in the middle of Tokyo. It was an old, sentient forest that made the air around him hum with power. He concluded that he had been unconscious for a long time, because the first light of dawn was starting to lighten the sky.

Byakuya replayed the last few moments after he had stabbed Zommari in his head. All he did was fall into the oni.

"I must have impacted with him as he tried to cross over to the spirit world," he mused aloud. "Now, I'm stuck here."

Byakuya was infuriated. If he could not locate a youkai or ayakashi to help him cross over to the world of the living once more, he would perish. Few dwellers in the spirit realm would associate with an onmyouji, let alone assist one. He knew that by eating food from the spirit world prolonged his stay, but he had no idea what doing so would entail once he left.

"What is edible here could end up killing me on my return home."

Byakuya sighed out his frustrations and tried to stand on his feet. Once he was sure he would not fall over, he made for the river. Byakuya wanted to clean his wounds as best he could in order to prevent infection. For all he knew, the wounds could already be infected from lying on cold moss for a few hours.

He stopped at the pebbled river bank. He removed the tool belt and discarded it. It was useless to him now. Byakuya waded into the water until it reached his chest. The burns on his arm throbbed, as did the puncture wound, but he endured it. After a few minutes, he went back to the shore and drank his fill of water.

Byakuya sat there and tried to decide his next course of action. He had nothing to store water in, so his best option was to stay close to the river. He wondered if he would encounter an ayakashi or youkai that way. Towns and villages were usually near rivers, but Byakuya did not know if youkai even had a civilisation that sophisticated.

What other option did he have? Hinamori would only stay by Rukia until she had to go to school, but what then? What would become of Rukia? Byakuya started walking parallel to the river. He had to find a way back to Rukia.

By the time Byakuya stopped for a rest, the sun was high in the sky. It was noon. He had yet to encounter any other living being. He often wondered where that oni had disappeared.

_It most likely left me for dead_, he thought.

A snarl sounded to his right. Byakuya stopped and looked towards the cluster of large rocks and saw that on top of them stood a large white nue. It was easily larger than a Bengal tiger. It stood there and stared at him with sharp yellow eyes.

Byakuya froze. He was completely defenceless if it decided to attack him. He would not fool himself into thinking that he could outrun it. A nue, although large in build, was agile and quick. Byakuya, however, was human and injured. There was no question in his mind as to what would happen if it did lunge at him.

An inhuman roar echoed through the forest. Byakuya thought that it had come from the nue, but he saw that it had gone frigid, and looked out to the forest, over his head. He could hear the something was approaching them, but he had no idea as to what it was. Byakuya felt his blood run cold as a creature landed behind him. The creature breathed heavily, its warm breath ghosted over Byakuya's back.

Byakuya noticed that the white nue was snarling, but had backed away somewhat. Slowly, he turned his head to look over his shoulder. At first all he saw was an expanse of red fur that was patterned with black stripes. He looked up at the creature's face. It had the face of a monkey with red-brown eyes. It was another nue, but this one was much larger. It was closer in size to a horse than a tiger.

The creature stared down at Byakuya. It did nothing other than look until the white nue snarled again. It raised its head towards the other creature and let out a low growl, and made a fist with its hand and slammed it down to the ground. Byakuya knew who was in charge between the two of them.

The red nue circled around Byakuya a few times before it came closer and sniffed at him. Byakuya stood still, not wanting to do anything to cause alarm that would result in his death. He watched the nue, mindful of its snake headed tail that moved around him as well.

"Who are you human?" the red nue asked.

Byakuya stopped himself from showing any visible signs of fear. Its voice was deep and powerful, commanding.

"My name is Kuchiki Byakuya," he answered.

He knew that by giving his name, he was also signing his own death certificate. Onmyouji of the Kuchiki clan were hated by ayakashi and youkai. The nue would kill for just being a part of the clan, never mind being the clan leader.

"You are the kannushi who sat beneath the sakura tree," it said.

Before Byakuya could ask how it knew he was a kannushi as well, but the nue's snake tail wrapped around his shoulders and lifted him off of the ground. It was not tight enough to hurt him, and it seemed that the tail wrapped around the area where it would cause him the least pain. Byakuya could not help the sharp intake of breath as he was lowered onto the nue's back.

The fur was softer than he thought it would be. From his new position, Byakuya could make out the stripes on the nue's fur better. They were sharp and angular and seemed to form a constant pattern, unlike the random patterns one saw on a tiger.

"Hold on tight," the nue said.

Before Byakuya could process what it had said, the nue had started to run, climbing and jumping over the rocks as the forest gave way to a mountain. Byakuya grabbed a fitful of its fur, and flattened his body more so that his body would not restrict the nue's movement as much.

Byakuya had no idea where the nue was taking him, but he hoped it was not to his death.

**And that's the second chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. I must admit that I was a bit skittish about writing the fight scene, but I think it turned out quite well. I reread the manga, and decided that I needed to add Zommari in somewhere, but he's not down for the count just yet. **

**I know that the atmosphere in this chapter is completely different to the one I created in the previous chapters, but it was necessary. So, I ended with a cliff hanger, but you'll find out Byakuya's fate soon. **

**As usual, reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated. Really, they make my day when I'm on tea and I see a review. **

**See you all soon. **


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